Olivier Lavigne-Lacroix named president of Canadian National Millers Association

Ottawa – The Canadian National Millers Association’s board of directors recently announced that Olivier Lavigne-Lacroix of T. Bjornson & Associates Consulting Inc. will succeed Gordon Harrison as president of the Canadian National Millers Association.

Lavigne-Lacroix has been working closely with Harrison and the board as of July 1 to facilitate the leadership transition, the association said in a news release. He officially assumed his new responsibilities as of Aug. 1, 2022. Harrison will retire at the end of August, after serving as CNMA’s president for 30 years.

Lavigne-Lacroix brings more than 10 years of experience in the public and private sectors focusing on agricultural public policy advocacy, regulatory affairs and stakeholder engagement. He is known for his strong collaborative approach and capacity to build bridges among partners in the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector. Prior to joining Bjornson & Associates, Lavigne-Lacroix worked with Cargill Limited’s public affairs team He holds a master’s in political science from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He is also a former member of the board of directors of Food and Beverage Ontario.

“Succession planning is one of the most important responsibilities of the Board, and today’s announcement is the culmination of a thoughtful transition process,” said Bruce MacIntyre, chairman of CNMA, in the release. “As a young leader, Olivier brings the right mix of understanding of our supply chains and experience in positively shaping public policy to be an effective and respected voice for our industry.”

“On behalf of the board, I want to sincerely thank Gordon for his dedicated leadership as president of CNMA. Gordon built the association into one of the leading and most respected national trade associations in the agri-food and food manufacturing sectors,” MacIntyre added.

The not-for-profit CNMA represents the Canadian cereal grain milling industry.